A Message of Tactility
by MadHare0512
Summary: Billy didn't know it then, but soon enough, he wouldn't be taking care of just himself anymore.


A Message of Tactility

By: AndiKaneUnderwood

**After recently watching Shazam and reading over some fanfictions, my brain latched on to this idea and refused to let go. So, here it is. ****Also, this is not a shipping thing, this is just fluff. I don't ship anyone in this movie with anyone else, except for Victor and Rosa. Thank you!**

Billy Batson had been taking care of himself since his third foster father started beating him when he was four. He learned that touch could hurt as much as it felt nice. He learned that some people weren't as nice as they pretended to be. Besides, he had a Mom out there looking for him and he wanted to be with her, not Mr. Wilson, who was creepy, had a very strange house, and a door behind his chair that Billy was never, _ever_, allowed to go through. When he ran away from his latest foster home, he was so sure he'd find her this time. So certain and ready to be in her life again. Then the police caught him and Billy was sent back to his caseworker and told that his foster family didn't want him back. _Good,_ he thought savagely. He hadn't liked that family much, their biological daughter was a bit too friendly with him and he hadn't cared for that at all.

He didn't pay much attention in the car while on the way to his new foster home. He didn't care much, not thinking he'd stay long there. He didn't pay much attention to Victor, who said that he was fine with being called Dad if that was okay with Billy, but if not then 'Victor' was fine. He certainly didn't pay much attention to Rosa, who repeated the same sentiments. He did perk up when Rosa said, "I understand you have a mother living out there somewhere, Billy. It's okay if you don't want to call me Mom, I hope you won't feel obligated to." After that, Rosa and Victor just left him to himself and he took in the sights, marking what roads seemed busy and which ones weren't. Where subway entrances where and what places looked crowded where he could slip away too unnoticed. He was grateful Rosa and Victor didn't try to make any more conversation with him, he wouldn't have put forth any effort at all and that just seemed to make people mad. Not that he cared, he was just too tired to deal with it right now.

Getting into the house was a hassle he hadn't expected; Eugene's yelling, Darla's hugs, Mary's distracted mind, and Pedro's silence were all things he was used to from previous foster homes. The only thing he hadn't been expecting was his new disabled foster brother Freddy fucking Freeman and his dark sense of god-fucking-awful humor. Freddy had assured him that no, Victor didn't hurt any of them, but he also knew that some guys had the biggest of all tempers, they knew how to hide them and scare others into silence. So, as soon as Freddy had gone to sleep, breaths huffing softly into the air with the slightest bit of a whistle, Billy snuck down from the top bunk. His practiced feet made no noise as he slipped across the floor to slide open the drawer that Freddy kept his bullet from Superman in and steal the small object.

Billy didn't know it then, but soon enough, he wouldn't be taking care of just himself anymore.

_Shazam!~Shazam!~Shazam!_

Billy had been the Red Cyclone for a total of three days when he finally figured out how much Freddy and his new family truly meant to him. He'd been so caught up, in getting money, in getting attention, in being something amazing, that he'd forgotten that other people existed. Truth be told, he'd never thought of Freddy as anything less than him, he'd thought Freddy was pretty cool all on his own, cripple leg or no, and all that superhero knowledge and random facts had come in handy when they were figuring out his powers. And no, while he'd threatened it, he'd never truly intended on hurting Freddy when he was set on fire. Hell, he deliberately slowed himself down, then caught Freddy. He'd only spun him around once and gave him a noogie, he'd never wanted to hurt anyone.

He was growing very fond of Freddy. Somehow.

Then Freddy went and said the stupidest thing and Billy _had_ planned on going to lunch. He _had_. But he'd gotten distracted, gotten pissed, let Freddy down. That last bit wouldn't hit him until after the fight with the Seven Deadly Sins. Once Billy had figured things out, he realized he didn't have just himself to take care of. He had Freddy, Darla, Pedro, Eugene, Mary, Victor, and Rosa and that _scared_ him. But it also _excited_ him.

The first thing Billy had done after meeting Superman after the battle was bringing the Kryptonian to his school so Freddy could meet him. Then he got Supes' permission to shot him with a gun, to replace the bullet he'd lost. Supes' was perfectly fine with it, after learning what it was for. He filmed it, for video proof, then sent it to an authenticator. He presented it to Freddy as a gift. Freddy was ecstatic. That was Billy's first taste of how tactile Freddy was because Freddy had kissed his cheek.

Billy hadn't been sure how to deal with that at first, frozen to the spot with a blush high on his face. Freddy had blushed too, a bright pink, and apologized. Billy had laughed it off and they went on with their lives. Billy was fond of Freddy, but there was no attraction there. Billy didn't say it, but he wasn't entirely okay with people touching him. The kiss to his cheek had startled him, reminded him of that girl who got to friendly that he hadn't cared for at all, but it also wasn't entirely unpleasant.

Billy wouldn't go so far as to say he was okay with touch anymore, but it wasn't necessarily unpleasant. A kiss from a friend, someone he cared for, nothing more and nothing less.

_Shazam!~Shazam!~Shazam!_

What he soon came to understand that Freddy, Eugene, and Darla where extremely tactile.

Darla loved hugs, and Billy didn't mind giving them to her or receiving them; Eugene often leaned against someone when he was playing his videogames, to keep himself grounded to reality when he was wrapped inside a world full of fantasy; and Freddy was by far the most tactile of any person Billy had ever met. Billy surprised himself by the comfort and warmth he felt every time any of them happened to give him hugs, lean against him, cuddle up next to him during movie night, peck his cheek (which Billy had assured Freddy was fine after he'd turned into a stammering mess the next time it happened). He had no issues with letting any of them cuddle up to him, though Pedro and Mary did it less so than the other three. He wondered if his issues were tied to parental figures rather than to all people because whenever Rosa and Victor came over and hugged him, he felt much more awkward, which he was assured was fine by the therapist Rosa had suggested he see. Billy pushed that thought aside as a squeak and a whimper came from the bunk below his.

The hero had been told how Sivana ended up at his home. Freddy had confessed it to him weeks after the battle as he cried and sobbed one night, that he'd been at the mall looking for him and Sivana had captured him. Freddy had tried so hard to hold out, but Sivana had let the Sin of Wrath out, had _scared_ Freddy so much. Billy could never blame Freddy for being afraid, _Billy _had fought against Sivana and he'd run the first chance he got.

Freddy had pleaded with Billy not to be upset with him. Billy had pulled his brother into a hug and ran his fingers through curly dark hair until Freddy had calmed down enough to explain that Sivana had let Wrath out because that specific Sin had strength enough to subdue ten men in a single claw and Freddy was completely helpless, especially with his bad leg acting up as it had been that day. Freddy had been hurt by Sivana, who wasn't above harming a _child_ to get what he wanted. Wrath had used that strength to twist Freddie's bad leg in ways it hadn't been able to in a long while until Freddy was _crying_ and _screaming_ and willing to do _anything_ to make it stop. Billy would never blame Freddy for that.

The hero was distracted from his thoughts again when another whimper broke his train of thought. Billy was immediately scrambling down the ladder; screw any semblance stealth when he heard Freddy cry out. Billy knelt next to the bed and reached out, laying a hand on Freddy's shoulder. The younger was curled up, one arm under his head while the other protected his stomach from imaginary attackers. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he cried and Billy's heart sunk in his chest. "Freddy, wake up. It's just a dream, dude, wake up." Freddy whined and Billy worried, shaking Freddy's shoulder and murmuring, "Come on, Freddy, it's just a nightmare. You're fine, Freddy, you're safe here, I promise."

Freddy's eyes finally snapped open and he scrambled to sit up, his shirt hanging off one shoulder and coated in sweat. He yelped, shuffling backward as he locked eyes with Billy. Billy displayed his hands in a nonthreatening way, speaking softly. "It's alright, Freddy, it's just me."

Freddy shook his head, blinking the last remnants of the nightmare from his mind, "Billy," he murmured.

Billy tried for a smile, "I'm here."

Freddy sighed, running a hand through his sweat-drenched curls, then covering his mouth with both hands. "Oh, God." Freddy was pale, shivering like he was cold, and looked almost like he'd be sick. Billy almost didn't know what to do. Until he remembered something that Rosa had said this morning.

_"I read an article about love languages, today. I thought maybe it could help you, Billy. There are five of them."_

Billy had perked up, willing to listen because it not only made Rosa happy but it helped him understand his siblings better too.

_"Physical touch is one of them."_

Billy had learned that tactility was Freddy's way of communication. That same idea would help him here.

He climbed up onto the bed and shuffled until he lay with his back against the ladder of the bunk bed. He gently placed a hand on Freddy's shoulder. Freddy, who had gradually become more and more hysterical, looked up with a plea on his lips. Billy tugged on his shoulder and Freddy followed his direction, leaning against Billy and curling up with his bad leg stretched out and his good leg tucked up to his chest.

"You wanna talk about it?" Billy asked, gently hugging Freddy close to his body. He remembered having nightmares that made him wake up screaming and wishing someone was there for him. No one had been there for him, but that didn't mean Billy couldn't be there for others.

"I knew I couldn't give you up. No matter how much it hurt, I couldn't tell him what he wanted. But I couldn't hold out. And you didn't come back and he killed them all right in front of me." Freddy's hysterics had died off, but the tears that had been coming since he'd finally woken up hadn't stopped.

"You know, when I got your call, I didn't hesitate for a second to come back. It was never a question for me."

"You wouldn't have had to if I hadn't told him where we lived. It's my fault, Billy, I'm so sorry."

Billy remembered when he'd first found out after the big battle with the Sins, he'd been so mad. He was ready to tell his brother off right then and there, willing to go off and scream, tear the younger boy a new one. And Freddy would've let him too. Freddy had been so guilty, felt like he'd deserved all the pain he'd gotten for selling Billy and their family out like that. Then, Billy had turned, opened his mouth to let Freddy have it, and saw the guilt pouring off the younger boy's entire body. Billy had seen the tears in Freddy's eyes, had seen the tremors in his hands, and he'd heard the screaming while his brother was trapped in the throes of his nightmares.

Billy had felt his anger dissipate, evaporating before it had the chance to truly evolve. Because Freddy was already killing himself with guilt over a mistake _Billy_ would've made if the situation where reverse. Because it was loyal, little-brother Freddy who'd never dealt with this shit before, who'd shown him how to be a hero and who'd helped him discover his powers and who'd taken shit because of Billy at school.

Freddy whispered the same thing now that he pleaded back then. "Please don't be mad."

Billy may have been before, but he could never be now. This was Freddy, who'd patrolled with him and helped him through the shit with his mother (though Freddy would never hear it from Billy), who'd first made him realize that a family by choice was just as good as a family by blood. So, Billy replied with the same words he'd said when he first found out. "I could never be mad about this, Freddy."

Freddy dissolved into tears again, but no cries left his lips. Billy held him close until Freddy had cried himself out and was resting with his head on Billy's shoulder; blinking sleepily and staring into the black room.

"Ready to lay back down now?" Billy asked, preparing himself to stay with Freddy all night.

Freddy sniffled and nodded, "Yeah."

Billy nodded and made to get up, to let Freddy lay down, but Freddy whimpered and latched onto his shirt with a hand. Billy didn't flinch, but he felt his worry was warranted, "I'm just getting up so you can lay back down, Freddie. I can stay with you if you'd like, but I have to get up so you can lay down."

Freddie slowly nodded and let go even more slowly, like he couldn't bear to let go or Billy would disappear. Billy didn't know much about Freddie's time before this, but he figured that if he was this worried about Billy disappearing; if Freddie had bonded so quickly that he was already worried about Billy leaving him alone to deal with his problems himself, then it was probably something big and traumatizing. Freddie got himself laid down quickly and efficiently, with a little help from Billy when his bad leg got tangled and he didn't have the energy to untangle it. Billy sat on the edge of the bed, "You want me to stay, or do you want me to go?"

Freddie looked heartbroken at the idea of Billy leaving, so Billy figured his answer before the, "Please stay," ever formed on Freddie's lips.

Billy slipped under the covers and sat up against the headboard. He offered an arm to his brother and Freddie latched onto Billy's torso as quickly as the lightning that sparked in their blood. Billy would've been uncomfortable if it were anyone else; if it were anyone outside his family, but it was Freddie. It was his loyal, quick-witted, no-filter, little brother Freddy fucking Freeman and Billy would sooner let the Sins back out that let his brother down again.

So, he stayed with Freddie the rest of the night, laying back against the pillow and getting comfortable with Freddy's weight on his chest and dark curls tickling his nose. Because as much as he'd not known anything about a family, as much as he could take care of himself, as much as he'd gone through life alone. He'd received the message of tactility from his younger brother and he'd always reply with positivity.

So, with that thought in mind, Billy smiled and slipped into sleep.


End file.
